I don't think there's any cause for complacency, but at the same time it's important to appreciate that some of the good stuff that originated in clubs now takes place in other settings.

For instance, researching and presenting local material: the Baring-Gould Song School, run by the Wren trust, takes place for a week each autumn in Devon to do exactly that. The results are presented, along with much other local material, at the weekend festival that follows it. I dare say other regional organisations such as Folkworks and Folk South West have similar initiatives.

There's now a degree in Folk and Traditional music at Newcastle University, offering opportunities for serious study and research that were undreamed-of in the 1970s.

Clubs are less numerous and less popular, but sessions are thriving, and far more abundant that a few decades ago.

And although festivals may not have much in the way of roots in the local community, they now serve a "folk community" from across the country. Anyone who goes to festivals even once or twice a year knows that they'll renew contacts and musical links with old friends and fellow musicians/singers. There's a strong folk-interest national network which is supported by both festivals and the internet in a way that simply wasn't possible when local clubs were the focus of most folk activity.

So it's fair comment to say that folk clubs have decreased in importance, but it's a mistake to assume that all the things that clubs used to do have declined in similar measure: much of the activity and interest continues, but in different forms.

Marje